The Trek West

OMG!!  This picture makes me laugh.  To do my solo trip, I needed my Burley cargo trailer loaded with my clothes, camping gear, food, and electronics.  But what the heck is that box on top???

Well, that box is why I didn’t sleep well last night. The plan for the first day was to ride from Brighton to Ann Arbor, take the Amtrak to Kalamazoo, and then ride from the station to my son Jared and his fiancee’ Abby’s house in Portage.  The riding distance wasn’t a worry — only 20 miles to Ann Arbor and 7 from Kalamazoo to Portage.  It was the train!!!  Specifically, my trailer getting on the train!

I spent a bit of time researching what could be taken on the train. The $27 ticket covered me and my luggage and another $10 covered the bicycle.  I could also take 2 suitcase sized bags (@50 lbs) and 2 carry-ons (@25 lbs).  BUT, they don’t allow bicycle trailers.

Well, technically they allow them if you can put them in a suitcase sized container and if they weigh less than 50 lbs. My Burley weighs 21 lbs by itself and I have 50 lbs of stuff inside of it.  So I went to Motor City Bicycles by my house and saw my favorite bike store guy, Ian.  He got a Burley box from the back and let me have it.   I did a trial run of taking apart the Burley and fitting it into the box and it worked.  I then got my suitcase and fit that into the box to see if I could carry that too (yes).  Then I wrapped up the dry run with putting all of my stuff in the suitcase and it all fit.  So it sounded like I had a plan.

The reason I didn’t sleep though was because the box was 6″  longer than the 28″ that they allowed.  I actually drove to Ann Arbor the night before to talk with someone at the station.  She said it should be ok but it wasn’t up to her.  So I was a lot anxious I would get flagged for a violation and not even start the journey.  

I arrived an hour early at the station to allow plenty of time for mishaps along the way (none), and to box up the Burley and fill my suitcase.  I asked another person behind the service window and she said she didn’t know, it wasn’t up to her.  I asked some frequent train travelers and they all said it shouldn’t be a problem but it depended on how many people were on the train.  (ugh!)

Well, that’s me on the train.  And all my stuff made it. The conductor didn’t bat an eye and said as long as the box fits on the baggage shelf it’s not an issue. Whew!!!!  And that saved Becky a rescue trip to pick me up 🙂

So I made it to Kalamazoo, reassembled the rig and rode to Jared and Abbey’s house.  It was great to hang out with them for half the day.  They made some burgers, home fries, and a salad and Jared and I watched Dune (the movie.)

The good news is that I’m ditching the box and suitcase in Portage until I can return to get it.  It was really dicey riding with all that weight on top.  I hit a couple of downhills at 20 mph and the whole trailer started swaying.  I had to S_L_O_W down.  

Tomorrow, I leave Portage and head to Van Buren State Park near South Haven.  I hope the ride is a bit easier with a more balanced Burley, but I have 2x as far to go. 

Thanks for reading — stay tuned!!!